Family and estate archives and inheritances from the territory of old Galicia : their history and present state

In Galicia, record keeping was dominated by the family and estate archives (archiwa rodzinno-majątkowe) produced by noble families. These tended to remain in private hands until the collapse of the Habsburg Empire, and only rarely did such collections fi nd their way into public collections. However, there were several libraries in Galicia that attempted to collect these sources. Among the oldest and largest of the institutions involved in this process was the Ossoliński Library. Its work was greatly respected by the Polish population. On the Ukrainian side, the Shevchenko Scientifi c Library and the National Home Library in Lwów played similar roles. The war years (1914-1920) were a particularly diffi cult time for these archives. The fi ghting in Galicia led to the destruction of many collections, along with the manor houses, furnishings and other items. This destruction was sometimes done deliberately. Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, most of the territory of old Galicia was incorporated into Poland. The majority of these archives remained in private hands, but their owners were eager to donate them to libraries and national archives because of growing interest in their contents. The fundamental change in the situation of the family and estate archives in the former area of Galicia occurred between 1939-1945. These consisted of World War II and the border and social changes that occurred in its aftermath. At the same time, a large proportion of the owners of these archives lost their lands and estates - including their family archives. Some of the collections were moved while others were destroyed.